FIRST Minister Rhodri Morgan today likened Cardiff voters’ damning verdict on Labour to two of the party’s darkest election nights in Wales’ capital.

Labour has lost a swathe of seats across the capital to the other three major parties and suffered a rout to independents in Merthyr Tydfil.

It has also seen the Conservatives take key seats in the Vale of Glamorgan and win control of the council. Party leader David Cameron was today expected to visit the area to congratulate the victorious group.

In Cardiff, Liberal Democrat leader Rodney Berman was today weighing up his options as the leader of a strengthened largest group but without overall control of the city.

Cardiff West AM Mr Morgan blamed dissatisfaction with Gordon Brown’s Westminster Government for Labour’s brutal losses which he compared to the party’s bleak election nights of 1967 and 1977 when he said the party was left with a single councillor in Cardiff.

Other defeated Labour candidates across South Wales also lashed out at the party’s Westminster leadership, blaming the party’s national mistakes for their defeat.

Mr Morgan said: “There’s a definite link. In each situation the Labour Government takes the blame. We have never been able to insulate local elections from a difficult national situation which completely de-motivates Labour voters. If you look at the performance across the city, you see the extreme reluctance to vote of Labour voters.”

He said the abolition of the 10p rate of income tax had been a key issue on the doorstep and said it had affected Wales proportionally more than England because of the higher number of people on lower rates of income.

He rejected the suggestion that Plaid’s success in the west of the city would have any bearing on future Assembly or Parliamentary elections in the area, his own constituency.

Mr Morgan said: “I doesn’t have any bearing really. The huge Labour gains in ’81, ’85 and ’89 didn’t tell you anything about the election to come.”

Across Wales, he said the result had been “very, very serious” because of the extent to which Labour voters had failed to show up at polling stations.

He said: “It’s very, very serious because it’s the demotivation of Labour voters. If you look at the circumstances, I can’t remember an election where there have been so few reasons for people to vote Labour except the long gratitude for the long-term improvement to the economy.”

At the time of going to press, Labour had lost control of Merthyr, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Flintshire. The party has also been pushed hard in Newport by the Liberal Democrats where the result hangs on re-counts today.

In the capital, key seats in the west of the city fell to Plaid Cymru including in Riverside and Fairwater. The Tories also picked up Labour seats in wards like Whitchurch, Radyr, Pentyrch and Old St Mellons while the Lib Dems gained Labour seats in Butetown, Llandaff North, Llandaff and Trowbridge.

Liberal Democrat leader Rodney Berman had 34 seats confirmed overnight with one more expected when Heath declares today. That leaves the Lib Dems as the largest group but without overall control. The Tories are in second place.

Coun Berman today refused to comment on whether he was considering a formal coalition with the Tories or Plaid Cymru.

He said: “Our objective will be to deliver quality services and now we need to find out the best way to do that.

“Nothing is ruled in and nothing is ruled out.

“We have two weeks until the meeting of the council and we need to initiate talks with other party groups to see how the final tallies add up.

“It has been a good night. I think the party as a whole can be very proud of the way we have performed in the elections.”

Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy said Labour’s performance in South Wales was “very disappointing”.

He said: “We have to listen to what the people have told us and their concerns about certain things. We have to redouble our efforts.”